Location-based management of healthcare environments

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for managing healthcare environments are provided. In embodiments, a real-time status of a clinical device, along with a location, is received. The location of the clinical device is obtained via a clinical device identifier that is tracked by a plurality of sensors in a healthcare environment. A clinical device may be identified as inappropriate for use and an alert presented to a clinician including the problem of the clinical device and the location thereof. A replacement clinical device may be located, using clinical identifiers, and presented to the clinician. Such monitoring and location awareness facilitates efficient responses to healthcare situations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of, and claims priority from, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/612,434, entitled “Location-BasedManagement of Healthcare Environments,” filed Nov. 4, 2009, which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In order to provide effective and efficient management of healthcareenvironments, healthcare institutions are using a variety of healthcaremanagement systems. Such healthcare management systems may monitor thelocations of patients and providers. Recent developments in healthcarehave caused an increase in the use of electronic health records (EHR's)and electronic storage of a variety of clinical information.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods in a clinicalcomputing environment for managing healthcare environments. In oneembodiment, a set of computer-useable instructions providing a methodfor managing healthcare environments is illustrated. Initially, areal-time status of a clinical device is received that indicates whetherthe clinical device is appropriate for use. The status of the clinicaldevice is identified as indicating that the clinical device is notappropriate for use. Upon identifying that the clinical device is notappropriate for use, an alert is presented indicating both that theclinical device is not appropriate for use and a location of theclinical device within a blueprint of a healthcare environment. Alocation of at least one replacement clinical device is located andpresented within the blueprint.

In another embodiment, a set of computer-useable instructions providinga method for managing healthcare environments is illustrated. Ahealthcare order that is input into a patient's EHR to be completed forthe patient is received from a first clinician. The healthcare order isdisplayed to a first clinician and associated with one or more tangibleitems required to fulfill the healthcare order. The location of the oneor more tangible items required to fulfill the healthcare order ispresented to the second clinician. A second clinician is navigated tothe one or more tangible items required to fulfill the healthcare order.

In yet another embodiment, a set of computer-useable instructionsproviding a method for managing healthcare environments is illustrated.Patient clinical information from a patient's electronic health recordand a real-time status of the patient are received. Based upon thepatient clinical information and the real-time status of the patient, itis determined that an alert is required. The alert is displayed in bothan alert area and a blueprint area of a user interface.

Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention willbe set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of thefollowing, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present invention is described in detail below with reference to theattached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing environment suitablefor use in implementing the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a first exemplary method formanaging healthcare environments, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a second exemplary method formanaging healthcare environments, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a third exemplary method formanaging healthcare environments, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative graphical user interface display of an alertgenerated for a patient, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative graphical user interface display of a patientsummary area, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an illustrative graphical user interface display of detailedclinician information, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is an illustrative graphical user interface display of detailedclinician information, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is an illustrative graphical user interface display of detailedclinical device information, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 10 is an illustrative graphical user interface display of detailedclinical device and patient information accessed in association with apatient room, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of the present invention is described withspecificity herein to meet statutory requirements. However, thedescription itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent.Rather, the inventors have contemplated that the claimed subject mattermight also be embodied in other ways, to include different steps orcombinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, inconjunction with other present or future technologies. Moreover,although the terms “step” and/or “block” may be used herein to connotedifferent components of methods employed, the terms should not beinterpreted as implying any particular order among or between varioussteps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individualsteps is explicitly described.

Referring to the drawings in general, and initially to FIG. 1 inparticular, an exemplary computing system environment, for instance, amedical information computing system, on which embodiments of thepresent invention may be implemented is illustrated and designatedgenerally as reference numeral 10. It will be understood and appreciatedby those of ordinary skill in the art that the illustrated medicalinformation computing system environment 10 is merely an example of onesuitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention.Neither should the medical information computing system environment 10be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to anysingle component or combination of components illustrated therein.

Embodiments of the present invention may be operational with numerousother general purpose or special purpose computing system environmentsor configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems,environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use withembodiments of the present invention include, by way of example only,personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes,programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove-mentioned systems or devices, and the like.

Embodiments of the present invention may be described in the generalcontext of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules,being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include, butare not limited to, routines, programs, objects, components, and datastructures that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. The present invention may also be practiced indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network. Ina distributed computing environment, program modules may be located inlocal and/or remote computer storage media including, by way of exampleonly, memory storage devices.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the exemplary medical informationcomputing system environment 100 includes a general purpose computingdevice in the form of a control server 102. Components of the controlserver 102 may include, without limitation, a processing unit, internalsystem memory, and a suitable system bus for coupling various systemcomponents, including database cluster 104, with the server 102. Thesystem bus may be any of several types of bus structures, including amemory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus,using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronic Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, also known as Mezzaninebus.

The server 102 typically includes, or has access to, a variety ofcomputer readable media, for instance, database cluster 104. Computerreadable media can be any available media that may be accessed by server102, and includes volatile and nonvolatile media, as well as removableand non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computerreadable media may include computer storage media and communicationmedia. Computer storage media may include, without limitation, volatileand nonvolatile media, as well as removable and nonremovable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information, suchas computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data. In this regard, computer storage media may include, but isnot limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVDs) or other optical diskstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, orother magnetic storage device, or any other medium which can be used tostore the desired information and which may be accessed by the server102. Communication media typically embodies computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal, and may include any information delivery media.As used herein, the term “modulated data signal” refers to a signal thathas one or more of its attributes set or changed in such a manner as toencode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media includes wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the abovealso may be included within the scope of computer readable media.

The computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 1,including database cluster 104, provide storage of computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for theserver 102.

The server 102 may operate in a computer network 106 using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers 108. Remote computers 108may be located at a variety of locations in a medical or researchenvironment, for example, but not limited to, clinical laboratories,hospitals and other inpatient settings, veterinary environments,ambulatory settings, medical billing and financial offices, hospitaladministration settings, home health care environments, and clinicians'offices. Clinicians may include, but are not limited to, a treatingphysician or physicians, specialists such as surgeons, radiologists,cardiologists, and oncologists, emergency medical technicians,physicians' assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, nurses' aides,pharmacists, dieticians, microbiologists, laboratory experts, geneticcounselors, researchers, veterinarians, students, and the like. Theremote computers 108 may also be physically located in non-traditionalmedical care environments so that the entire health care community maybe capable of integration on the network. The remote computers 108 maybe personal computers, servers, routers, network PCs, peer devices,other common network nodes, or the like, and may include some or all ofthe components described above in relation to the server 102. Thedevices can be personal digital assistants or other like devices.

Exemplary computer networks 106 may include, without limitation, localarea networks (LANs) and/or wide area networks (WANs). Such networkingenvironments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computernetworks, intranets, and the Internet. When utilized in a WAN networkingenvironment, the server 102 may include a modem or other means forestablishing communications over the WAN, such as the Internet. In anetworked environment, program modules or portions thereof may be storedin the server 102, in the database cluster 104, or on any of the remotecomputers 108. For example, and not by way of limitation, variousapplication programs may reside on the memory associated with any one ormore of the remote computers 108. It will be appreciated by those ofordinary skill in the art that the network connections shown areexemplary and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers (e.g., server 102 and remote computers 108) may beutilized.

In operation, a user may enter commands and information into the server102 or convey the commands and information to the server 102 via one ormore of the remote computers 108 through input devices, such as akeyboard, a pointing device (commonly referred to as a mouse), atrackball, or a touch pad. Other input devices may include, withoutlimitation, microphones, satellite dishes, scanners, or the like.Commands and information may also be sent directly from a remotehealthcare device to the server 102. In addition to a monitor, theserver 102 and/or remote computers 108 may include other peripheraloutput devices, such as speakers and a printer.

Although many other internal components of the server 102 and the remotecomputers 108 are not shown, those of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that such components and their interconnection are wellknown. Accordingly, additional details concerning the internalconstruction of the server 102 and the remote computers 108 are notfurther disclosed herein.

Although methods and systems of embodiments of the present invention aredescribed as being implemented in a WINDOWS operating system, operatingin conjunction with an Internet-based system, one of ordinary skill inthe art will recognize that the described methods and systems can beimplemented in any system supporting the receipt and processing ofhealthcare orders. As contemplated by the language above, the methodsand systems of embodiments of the present invention may also beimplemented on a stand-alone desktop, personal computer, or any othercomputing device used in a healthcare environment or any of a number ofother locations.

As previously mentioned, the present invention is related to managinghealthcare environments. More particularly, the present invention isrelated to location-based management of healthcare environments andresources therein. Clinical integration of a healthcare managementsystem with patients' electronic records would offer the most efficienthealthcare management system by tracking healthcare resources such thatthe system is aware of the location of healthcare resources and may usethe location awareness in combination with clinical information storedin an EHR.

Healthcare resources such as clinicians, patients, equipment, clinicaldevices, and the like may be tracked via a plurality of sensors in thehealthcare environment. The sensors in the healthcare environment mayutilize ultrasound technology, infrared technology, radio-frequencyidentification technology, and the like. Using said technology, thesensors send out signals to clinician identifiers, patient identifiers,item identifiers, clinical device identifiers, or the like. An exemplarysensor system is the Cricket Indoor Location System sponsored by the MITProject Oxygen partnership.

The signals are received by the identifiers and the identifiers respondto the signals. A response from an identifier is received by the sensorsand the sensors are able to recognize and determine the location of theresponding identifier and, thus, are aware of the resources within thehealthcare environment. The respective identifiers associated with theresources may be located, e.g., on the person, on the item, or on thedevice. Exemplary identifiers include badges, wristbands, tags, and thelike. The locations of clinicians, patients, equipment, or the like,associated with a responding identifier, may be presented or displayedon a display of a computing device, such as remote computer 108 of FIG.1.

The locations of the clinicians, patients, clinical devices, or thelike, are useful when locating a desired item and/or individual.Additionally, the location information may be used in combination withclinical information from an electronic health record (EHR) or with analert presented based on clinical information, location information,clinical device information, or a combination thereof.

Alerts may be presented regarding patients, clinical devices, or thelike. FIG. 2 represents an exemplary method 200 for managing healthcareenvironments by generating an alert. Initially, a real-time status of aclinical device is received directly from a clinical device interface atblock 210. A real-time status, as used herein, refers to the mostrecently received status of a clinical device. For example, data outputby a clinical device is continuously monitored. Said continuousmonitoring provides periodic status updates for the clinical device. Thedata received most recently is the real-time status of the clinicaldevice.

The real-time status of a clinical device may indicate that the clinicaldevice is appropriate for use or not appropriate for use. Moreparticularly, the status of the clinical device may indicate that theclinical device is in use and functioning, not in use and capable offunctioning, in use and requires maintenance, not in use and requiresmaintenance, in use and not functioning, not in use and not able tofunction, or the like. An alert for a clinical device may also indicatethe name of the clinical device and the problem associated with theclinical device. For instance, an IV pump may be low on fluids andrequire immediate attention. An alert for that situation may indicatethe name of the clinical device (e.g., IV pump) and that the IV pump islow on fluids.

The status of the clinical device is identified as indicating that theclinical device is not appropriate for use at block 220. Uponidentifying that the clinical device is not appropriate for use, analert is presented at block 230. The alert is displayed within ablueprint of a healthcare environment. The blueprint also indicates thelocation of the clinical device such that a clinician viewing the alertmay quickly locate the clinical device, as shown in FIG. 5 and discussedin greater detail below. The alert may be presented to a clinicianassociated with the patient (e.g., a nurse assigned to the patient), aclinician near the patient in location, or the like.

Clinical device location information is accessed from the plurality ofsensors in the healthcare environment. Each clinical device isassociated with a clinical device identifier that may be located on abadge, a tag, or any identifying device known in the art to facilitatetracking of items by the plurality of sensors in the healthcareenvironment utilizing ultrasound technology, infrared technology,radio-frequency identification technology, or the like.

A location of at least one replacement clinical device is identified atblock 240. To identify a location of at least one replacement clinicaldevice, a list of available clinical devices is accessed. The list ofavailable clinical devices may include all clinical devices that arecurrently available in the healthcare environment. In anotherembodiment, the list may only include available clinical devices thatmeet the same criteria as the clinical device that requires replacement.An appropriate replacement device is then determined by identifyingfeatures of the clinical device requiring replacement and searching thelist of available clinical devices to identify available clinicaldevices with the same features as the clinical device requiringreplacement. For example, a pump will be replaced with another pump, aventilator will be replaced with another ventilator, etc.

Once appropriate replacement clinical devices are identified, the mostappropriate replacement clinical device is determined. By way of exampleonly, assume that a ventilator on Floor 3 West needs to be replaced. Thelist of appropriate replacement clinical devices includes a ventilatoron Floor 3 West and a ventilator on Floor 8 East. The most appropriatereplacement clinical device may be the ventilator that is closest to theclinical device requiring replacement, i.e., the ventilator on Floor 3West.

The location of the replacement clinical device is displayed within theblueprint of the healthcare environment at block 250. The replacementclinical device may be determined based on proximity of the replacementclinical device to the clinical device requiring replacement. Thereplacement clinical device may also be determined based on proximity ofthe location of the replacement clinical device to the location of thepatient. Alternatively, the replacement clinical device may bedetermined based on proximity of the location of the replacementclinical device to the location of the clinician.

An exemplary method 300 for managing healthcare environments bygenerating an alert for a patient is illustrated in FIG. 3. Initially,patient clinical information is received from a patient's EHR at block310. A real-time status of the patient is received at block 320. Similarto the real-time status of a clinical device, a real-time status of apatient, as used herein, refers to the most recent status update ofpatient information. The real-time status of the patient may include alocation of the patient. Patient location information is based on apatient identifier that is tracked via a plurality of sensors in ahealthcare environment. The patient identifier may be located on awristband, a badge, or any other manner for tracking a patient in ahealthcare environment.

The real-time status of the patient may also include vital signs of thepatient, clinical device functionality information, or any otherrelevant patient information that may be monitored. Clinical devicefunctionality information, as previously explained, may indicate whetherthe clinical device is appropriate for use.

At block 330, based on the patient clinical information and the locationstatus of the patient, is it determined that an alert is required. Thealert may be a location-based alert. For example, a patient may beidentified as a high risk patient in the patient's EHR such that whenthe patient is mobile, an alert is required. A patient may be identifiedas a high-risk patient in their EHR for various reasons including if thepatient, e.g., has Alzheimer's disease, is a prisoner, is under apsychiatric hold, is a pediatric patient or an orthopedic patient, orthe like. FIG. 5 illustrates a patient that has been identified as ahigh risk patient that is the subject of an alert generated as a resultof the mobility of the patient.

Alerts are not limited to location-based alerts. Other exemplary alertsinclude an alert indicating that a clinical device requires attention,an alert indicating that a patient has activated a patient call button,or the like. The alerts may be ranked by severity as mild alerts,moderate alerts, severe alerts, and the like, such that clinicians canquickly prioritize displayed alerts.

Upon determining that an alert is required, the alert is presented inboth an alert area of a user interface and a blueprint area of the userinterface at block 340. The alert is presented in both the alert areaand the blueprint area such that the alert is visible whilesimultaneously viewing the subject of the alert within the blueprintarea. Thus, a clinician may easily identify the location of the patientassociated with the alert generated and may quickly respond. Such asimultaneous display is illustrated in FIG. 5. In alternativeembodiments, a real-time video feed of the patient, wherever the patientlocation is determined to be, may also be presented on the userinterface.

Turning now to FIG. 4, an exemplary method 400 for managing healthcareenvironments is illustrated. Initially, a healthcare order to becompleted for a patient is received from a first clinician at block 410.The order may be input directly into a patient's EHR. Upon receipt ofthe healthcare order, the healthcare order is displayed to a secondclinician at block 420. The second clinician may be associated with thepatient in the patient's EHR, may be a clinician near the location ofthe patient, or the like. For instance, a general healthcare order for apatient that may be completed by a nurse may be presented to the nurseassociated with the patient in the patient's EHR. Alternatively, thehealthcare order may be presented to a nurse that is near the patient.Further, the healthcare order may need to be performed by a specificclinician, e.g., a specialist, so the healthcare order may be presentedto the specified clinician.

The healthcare order is associated with one or more tangible items tofulfill the healthcare order at block 430. Healthcare orders may requireone or more items in order to complete the order. For instance, ahealthcare order to administer an IV may require a needle, an IV bag,the ordered fluids, and the like. Once the healthcare order isassociated with one or more tangible items, a location of the one ormore tangible items is identified at block 440. Similar to the locationof patients, clinicians, and clinical devices, the locations of tangibleitems within a healthcare environment are also monitored via theplurality of sensors within the healthcare environment. The tangibleitems may be associated with a tag or any other item identifier that maybe tracked by the plurality of sensors.

Upon identifying the location of the one or more tangible items requiredto fulfill the healthcare order, the location of the one or moretangible items is displayed to the second clinician at block 450. Thelocation of the one or more tangible items may be displayed within theblueprint of the healthcare environment, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Thesecond clinician is then navigated to the location of the one or moretangible items via a blueprint of the healthcare facility at block 460.The blueprint may graphically illustrate the location of the clinicianand the location of the one or more tangible items. The respectivelocations are updated as a new sensor identifies the identifier. Thus,as the clinician moves closer to the tangible item, the blueprintupdates to illustrate that the clinician's location is changing.Alternatively, turn-by-turn directions may be displayed to the clinicianin addition to the graphical blueprint. Thus, a user may be able to viewwhere they are on the blueprint relative to the tangible item and,additionally, view turn-by-turn textual directions simultaneously.

Turning to FIG. 5, a graphical user interface 500 includes a locationidentification area 530, a blueprint area 510, and a list area 540.Location identification area 530 includes information for a specificlocation of a healthcare environment such as a floor, wing, etc., of ahealthcare facility. For example, in FIG. 5, Level 2 West is thedesignated location for the current view. Detailed information for Level2 West is illustrated in location identification area 530 including thenumber of available beds, the number of beds occupied, a statisticalanalysis of the bed utilization rate, and the like. An average length ofstay may also be displayed in location identification area 530, as wellas other information that will be apparent to those of ordinary skill.

When a specific area of a healthcare environment is identified inlocation identification area 530 (e.g., Level 2 West), blueprint area510 of user interface 500 presents a blueprint of the identifiedlocation. The blueprint of the identified location may be modeled fromactual blueprints of the facility. Blueprint area 510 illustrateslocations of patient rooms using a patient room icon 512, as well asother areas, and the number and location of beds using a bed icon 513therein. Blueprint area 510 may designate beds as occupied ornon-occupied beds. For example, an occupied bed may include the name ofa patient assigned to the bed or, alternatively, an occupied identifier.Bed icon 513 illustrates a non-occupied bed since bed icon 513 indicatesthat a patient may be added.

Blueprint area 510 may also illustrate the location of patients by wayof a patient icon 514, each icon being associated with an individualpatient. For example, patient RT, illustrated in FIG. 5 as patient icon514, is located near the restrooms and, as such, is illustrated in thatlocation on the blueprint 510. Similarly, clinician locations may beillustrated using a clinician icon 515 that is associated with aparticular clinician. For example, clinician KR is located in the NursesStation where clinician icon 515 is displayed. Clinical device locationsmay also be illustrated within blueprint area 510 with a clinical deviceicon 518. Clinical device icon 518 illustrates that a clinical device islocated in the Nurses Station. Detailed information regarding thepatient, the clinician, or the clinical device may be displayed byhovering over the respective icon associated with the patient,clinician, or clinical device.

The icons for patients, clinicians, and clinical devices may becustomized such that the icons are easily distinguishable. For example,patients may have an icon that is a certain shape and/or color whileclinicians may have an icon that is another shape and/or color. Furtherclarification may be accomplished by associating specific clinicianswith a certain shape and/or color. For instance, a doctor may beassociated with one color while a nurse is associated with anothercolor. FIG. 5 distinguishes patients from clinicians by illustratingpatient icons 514 with an inverted triangular shape while clinicianicons 515 are illustrated as a rectangular shape. Such distinction oficons facilitates quick and easy identification of patients, clinicians,and/or clinical devices within blueprint area 510.

Blueprint area 510 allows a clinician to interact with the informationdisplayed thereon. As previously explained, patient rooms include bedsand patients may or may not be assigned to the beds. Bed icon 513illustrates an empty bed than may have a patient added and associatedtherewith. Bed 513 may be hovered over such that an enlarged bed icon isdisplayed. For example, the bed icon for Room 207-A displays detailedbed icon 516 when hovered over. Detailed bed icon 516 identifies apatient assigned to the bed and identifies a current location of thepatient. For example, patient Pamela Kohler is assigned to bed 207-A butthe current location identifies that the patient is in the hallway.Detailed bed icon 516 includes a patient information icon 519, aclinician information icon 570, a clinical device information icon 571,and an alert icon 574.

Patient information icon 519 may be hovered over such that detailedpatient information is displayed including detailed patient informationsimilar to that illustrated in FIG. 6. Detailed patient information mayalso be displayed by hovering over patient icon 514.

Clinician information icon 570 may be hovered over such that detailedclinician information associated with the selected patient is displayed.For instance, detailed clinician information for clinicians associatedwith patient Pamela Kohler is displayed when clinician information icon570 is hovered over. Said detailed clinician information is illustratedin FIG. 7 and discussed in further detail below.

Clinical device information icon 571 may also be hovered over such thatdetailed clinical device information is displayed. The clinical deviceinformation, as with the clinician information, is associated with thepatient. FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary display of detailed clinicaldevice information and will be discussed in further detail below.

Alert icon 574 displayed in blueprint area 510 corresponds with an alerticon 521 displayed in an alert area 520. Alert area 520 includes alertsfor the location designated in location identification area 530. Thealerts, as shown, may be ranked by severity and indicated as mild,moderate, or severe by way of a severe alert icon 521, a moderate alerticon 522, or a mild alert icon 523. Alert area 520 also identifies thelocation of the alert in addition to a description of the alert.

Upon user selection of alert icon 521 in alert area 520 or by hoveringover alert icon 574 within bed icon 516, detailed information regardingthe alert is displayed. Alert information balloon 550 is an example ofsaid detailed information. Alert information balloon 550 is illustratedin connection with a selection of alert icon 521 from alert area 520.

Alert information balloon 550 includes detailed information of the alertand of the subject of the alert. A subject identifier 551 may beincluded in alert information balloon 550 and identifies the subject ofthe alert by name, age, sex, date of birth, or the like. A diagnosis 552of the subject of the alert may also be included in alert informationballoon 550, as well as a length of stay indicator 553. The informationincluded in alert information balloon 550 may be directly from thepatient's EHR.

Additional detailed alert information is also included in alertinformation balloon 550. A description 554 of the alert is listed. Alertinformation balloon 550 was generated for a high risk patient who isdetermined to be off the unit. Blueprint area 510 complements thegenerated alert by illustrating the location of the subject. Forinstance, patient Pamela Kohler is determined to be off the unit andblueprint area 510 displays a patient icon 517 for Pamela Kohler in thehallway. The subject of the alert may be highlighted in the blueprintarea 510 such that it is quickly located. For example, patient icon 517may be flashing, highlighted in a bright color, or the like.

A time stamp 555 including a date of the alert and a time of the alertis included in alert information balloon 550. Further, an assignedcaregiver 556 is also illustrated such that a notification may begenerated to the assigned caregiver. For instance, Nurse Kim McNair isassigned to patient Pamela Kohler in alert information balloon 550 so anotification of the alert may be generated and sent to Nurse Kim McNair.A time elapsed 557 for the alert is also included in the alertinformation balloon 550 such that caregivers may easily determine howlong the alert has been in effect.

As previously discussed, alerts are not limited to patients. An alertmay be generated for a clinical device that is not appropriate for use.A warning may be displayed via a pop-up warning, a flashing clinicaldevice icon, upon selection of the alert within alert area 520, or thelike. An exemplary clinical device alert is illustrated in alert area520 by alert 522 indicating that an IV pump is low on fluids. Similar todisplaying a subject patient of an alert, a subject clinical device maybe displayed within blueprint area 510, as illustrated by IV pump icon572 illustrating that the IV pump in Room 201-A is low and requiresattention.

In additional embodiments, a replacement clinical device may also bepresented in blueprint area 510. For example, assume that IV pump icon572 illustrated that the IV pump is no longer appropriate for use.Replacement IV 573 may be displayed within blueprint area 510 such thata clinician may easily identify a replacement clinical device.

Clinical devices, or any tangible item, may be displayed in blueprintarea 510 in response to receiving a healthcare order from a clinician.For example, a healthcare order may be input to get a patient in Room201-B on an IV pump. A clinician that is associated with the patient maysee the alert and need to locate an IV pump. Blueprint area 510 maydisplay a replacement device, e.g., replacement IV pump 573. Thereplacement device is, thus, easily located by the clinician.

User interface 500 further includes list area 540. List area 540includes a patient indicator 541, a clinician indicator 542, and anequipment indicator 543. List area 540 may be configured to include avariety of other indicators for various resources found within ahealthcare environment.

Patient indicator 541 may be selected to present patient informationincluding a list of patients assigned to the designated location oflocation identification area 530. The list of patients further includesan assigned room for each patient, a current location for each patient,clinical information, clinicians associated with each patient, reasonfor the visit to the healthcare facility, the length of stay, and thelike. List area 540 also includes selectable tabs for areas of thehealthcare facility that are not indicated as the current location inlocation identification area 530. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates thatLevel 2 West is currently selected in list area 540 and may be thedefault location since Level 2 West is the location indicated inlocation identification area 530. However, there are selectable tabs foreach of 2 East, 2 North, and 2 South, such that the patients of otherareas of the facility are easily accessible. List area 540 is displayedsimultaneously with blueprint 510, alert area 520, and locationinformation area 530.

List area 540 may also present clinician information when clinicianindicator 542 is selected. The clinician information may include aclinician's current location, a list of all patients assigned to theclinician and a location of each of the patients, contact informationfor the clinician, or the like.

Further, list area 540 may also present equipment information whenequipment indicator 543 is selected. Similar to the presentation of thepatient information, the equipment may also be organized based onlocation in the healthcare environment. For instance, the defaultlocation may be the location that corresponds to that indicated inlocation identification area 530 while other areas may be accessed uponselection of a new location tab 544 regardless of the location indicatedin location identification area 530.

Additional information associated with clinicians, patients, rooms,equipment, or the like, may be accessed through interactive userinterface 500. A more detailed view of patient information may bedesired and an exemplary user interface 600 is illustrated in FIG. 6.Such a detailed view may be presented upon selection of a patient fromthe list of patients in list area 540 of FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 6,patient Pamela Kohler has been selected from the list of patients and apatient summary area 610 presents a detailed view of the patient'sclinical information. The information presented in patient summary area610 may be accessed directly from a patient's EHR and presented on userinterface 600.

Turning to FIG. 7, detailed clinician information associated with apatient is displayed. As explained regarding FIG. 5, clinicianinformation icon 730 may be hovered over to access clinician informationassociated with the patient assigned to the bed. In alternativeembodiments, patient icon 720 may be hovered over to retrieve clinicianinformation associated with the patient. With respect to FIG. 7,clinician information icon 730 was hovered over such that clinicianinformation balloon 750 is displayed. A clinician information balloonmay include one or more clinicians associated with the indicatedpatient, a current location for each clinician, as well as contactinformation, such as a mobile phone or pager number, for the clinician.Effortless identification of associated clinicians and the locationthereof facilitates easy communication to relevant clinicians regardingtheir patients.

Clinician information balloon 750 includes a first clinician informationarea 751, a second clinician information area 752, and a third clinicianinformation area 753. All three clinicians are related to the patient insome fashion and are included in clinician information balloon 750.First clinician information area 751 includes a first clinicianidentifier 751 a that identifies the first clinician by name andidentifies the role of the clinician (e.g., cardiologist, attendingphysician, etc.). First clinician information area 751 also includes acurrent location 751 b of the clinician. The location of the firstclinician is obtained via the plurality of sensors within the healthcareenvironment, as previously discussed in detail. The first clinicianinformation area 751 further includes first clinician contactinformation 751 c. Contact information may include a mobile phonenumber, a pager number, an email address, and the like.

Second clinician information area 752 includes a second clinicianidentifier 752 a, a current location 752 b of the second clinician, andsecond clinician contact information area 752 c. Similarly, thirdclinician information area 753 includes a third clinician identifier 753a, a current location 753 b of the third clinician, and a thirdclinician contact information area 753 c. The clinician informationballoon 751 may include as many clinicians as are associated with apatient.

Turning now to FIG. 8, accessing clinician information is illustrated.Clinician icon 810 may be hovered over such that clinician informationballoon 820 is presented. Clinician information balloon 820 may includea clinician identifier 821 that identifies the clinician, a currentlocation 822 for the indicated clinician, and contact information 823for the clinician. Additionally, a list of patients 824 that areassociated with the clinician may be presented in clinician informationballoon 820. The list of patients that are associated with the clinicianmay also include an assigned location for each patient, a currentlocation for each patient, and the like.

In addition to detailed clinician information, detailed informationregarding clinical devices may be presented as illustrated by graphicaluser interface 900 in FIG. 9. Clinical device information balloon 910 isdisplayed upon receiving an indication that a user is hovering over aclinical device information icon 920. Clinical device informationballoon 910 may include a list of all clinical devices associated withthe indicated patient and the manufacturer of each listed clinicaldevice. Clinical device information balloon 910 may also include astatus indicator 930 for each listed clinical device. For instance, theclinical devices associated with the patient indicated in FIG. 9 are anIV pump 940 and a pulse oxygen device 950, which are graphicallyillustrated in user interface 900 by IV pump icon 960 and pulse oxygenicon 970. Each is associated with a manufacturer and a status. Statusindicator 930 for both the IV pump 940 and the pulse oxygen device 950indicate that each machine is functioning. The “check-mark” is meant tobe illustrative rather than restrictive and any identifier that conveysthe status of the clinical device as working may be sufficient in thepresent invention. Alternatively, status indicator 930 may need toindicate that a clinical device is not working. Said non-functionalitymay be presented by way of a number of identifiers that would conveythat the clinical device is not working.

As previously indicated, the status of a clinical device may containmore information than merely a working or non-working indication. Thestatus may indicate that the device is currently in use or not currentlyin use. Thus, the device may be in use and working, not in use andworking, in use and not working, or not in use and not working.

Additional information regarding clinical devices may be accessed, asillustrated by graphical user interface 1000 in FIG. 10. For example,patient room icon 1010 may be hovered over such that a room informationballoon 1020 is generated. Room information balloon 1020 may include alist of all patients assigned to the room, as well as a list of allclinical devices assigned to that patient and/or to the room. Roominformation balloon 1020 may indicate whether the clinical devicesassigned to that patient are actually present in the room. Roominformation balloon 1020 may also indicate clinical devices present inthe room that are not assigned to the room or the patient.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, room information balloon 1020 includes anidentification of a patient 1021. Additionally, devices 1022 and 1023are listed such that a user may easily identify the devices assigned tothe identified patient 1021. The devices are also displayed within theblueprint by pulse oxygen icon 1040 and IV icon 1050.

Room information balloon 1020 also illustrates an empty room identifier1024 since the room is not associated with a patient and has no devices.Room information balloon 1020 further illustrates unassigned information1025 by listing unassigned clinical device 1026. Unassigned clinicaldevice 1026 is also illustrated in the blueprint area by unassigneddevice icon 1060.

The present invention has been described in relation to particularembodiments, which are intended in all respects to be illustrativerather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art to which the present inventionpertains without departing from its scope.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forthtogether with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the system and method. It will be understood that certain featuresand subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without referenceto other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and iswithin the scope of the claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:
 1. One or morenon-transitory computer-storage media having computer-useableinstructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform an improvedmethod in a medical information computing system of accuratelymonitoring and managing healthcare environments to identify an alert insignals received from one or more identifiers in a sensor systemcommunicating with a server through a computer network via a pluralityof sensors and to generate a graphical user interface to display thealert utilizing location awareness in combination with electronic healthrecords and electronic storage of clinical information the methodcomprising: receiving, by the server configured to operate in ahealthcare environment, through the computer network, patient clinicalinformation from a patient's electronic health record stored in adatabase; the server receiving through the computer network, signalsfrom the one or more identifiers associated with the patient via sensorsin the sensor system and identifying from the signals a real-timeclinical status of the patient including one or more vital signs of thepatient, functionality information of one or more clinical devicesassociated with the patient, and a real-time location of the patientfrom the signals, and wherein the functionality information of the oneor more clinical devices at least indicates whether the one or moreclinical devices are functioning and are appropriate for use;immediately determining by the server that the alert is necessary basedon the patient clinical information from the patient's electronic healthrecord and the identified real-time clinical status of the patienttogether with the included one or more vital signs of the patient, thefunctionality information of the one or more clinical devices associatedwith the patient, and the real-time location of the patient; upondetermining that the alert is necessary, the server generating an alertfrom the patient clinical information, the identified real-time clinicalstatus of the patient including the one or more vital signs of thepatient, the functionality information of the one or more clinicaldevices associated with the patient, and the real-time location of thepatient, the alert including a severity of the alert; the servergenerating the graphical user interface automatically without userinteraction which displays via a display of a computing device the alertincluding the identified real-time clinical status of the patientincluding the real-time location of the patient, and the severity of thealert simultaneously in both an alert area of the graphical userinterface and a separate blueprint area of the graphical user interfacesuch that the alert is visible in the alert area simultaneously with agraphical illustration of the real-time location of the patientdisplayed within the blueprint of the facility in the separate blueprintarea of the graphical user interface, wherein a diagnosis and a visitreason are displayed in a list area of the graphical user interfacesimultaneously with the graphical illustration of the real-time locationof the patient displayed within the blueprint of the facility in theseparate blueprint area of the graphical user interface and the alert inthe alert area of the graphical user interface; the server receiving anindication of user interaction with the displayed alert; and uponreceiving an indication of user interaction with the displayed alert,the server updating the graphical user interface to display via thedisplay of a computing device additional details of the alert in analert information area on the graphical user interface simultaneouslywith previously simultaneously but separately displayed diagnosis andvisit reason in the list area of the graphical user interface, alert inalert area of the graphical user interface and alert in the separateblueprint area of the graphical user interface, wherein the additionaldetails of the alert includes a determined elapsed time indicating aduration since the alert was generated by the server based on a time ofthe alert, the identified real-time clinical status of the patientincluding the one or more vital signs of the patient, the functionalityinformation of the one or more clinical devices associated with thepatient as well as patient clinical information and is visiblesimultaneously with the diagnosis and visit reason in the list area ofthe graphical user interface, the graphical illustration of thereal-time location of the patient displayed within the blueprint of thefacility in the separate blueprint area of the graphical user interface,and the alert in the alert area of the graphical user interface.
 2. Thecomputer-storage media of claim 1, further comprising: presenting a livevideo feed of a patient's room in response to identifying that an alertis in effect for the patient.
 3. The computer-storage media of claim 1,wherein the plurality of sensors utilize ultrasound technology, infraredtechnology, or radio frequency identification technology.
 4. Thecomputer-storage media of claim 1, wherein the patient identifier is apatient wristband.
 5. A method of accurately monitoring and managinghealthcare environments to identify an alert in signals received fromone or more identifiers in a sensor system communicating with a servervia a plurality of sensors through a computer network and to generate agraphical user interface to display the alert utilizing locationawareness in combination with electronic health records and electronicstorage of clinical information the method comprising: the serverreceiving through the computer network, patient clinical informationfrom a patient's electronic health record stored in a database; theserver receiving through the computer network, signals from the one ormore identifiers associated with the patient and the server identifyinga real-time clinical status of the patient including one or more vitalsigns of the patient, functionality information of one or more clinicaldevices associated with the patient and a real-time location of thepatient from the signals, and wherein the functionality information ofthe one or more clinical devices at least indicates whether the one ormore clinical devices are functioning and are appropriate for use;immediately determining by the server that the alert is necessary basedon the patient clinical information from the patient's electronic healthrecord and the real-time clinical status of the patient together withthe included the one or more vital signs of the patient, thefunctionality information of the one or more clinical devices associatedwith the patient, and the real-time location of the patient identifiedfrom the signals; upon determining that the alert is necessary, theserver generating an alert from the patient clinical information and thereal-time clinical status of the patient including the one or more vitalsigns of the patient, the functionality information of the one or moreclinical devices associated with the patient, and the real-time locationof the patient, the alert including a severity of the alert; the servergenerating the graphical user interface automatically without userinteraction which displays via a display of a computing device the alertincluding the real-time clinical status of the patient including thereal-time location of the patient received from the one or moreidentifiers associated with the patient, and the severity of the alertsimultaneously in both an alert area of the graphical user interface anda separate blueprint area of the graphical user interface such that thealert is visible in the alert area simultaneously with a graphicalillustration of the real-time location of the patient displayed withinthe blueprint of the facility in the separate blueprint area of thegraphical user interface, wherein a diagnosis and a visit reason aredisplayed in a list area of the graphical user interface simultaneouslywith the graphical illustration of the real-time location of the patientdisplayed within the blueprint of the facility in the separate blueprintarea of the graphical user interface and the alert in the alert area ofthe graphical user interface; the server receiving an indication of userinteraction with the displayed alert; and upon receiving an indicationof user interaction with the displayed alert, the server updating thegraphical user interface to display via the display of a computingdevice additional details of the alert in an alert information area onthe graphical user interface simultaneously with previouslysimultaneously but separately displayed diagnosis and visit reason inthe list area of the graphical user interface, alert in alert area ofthe graphical user interface and alert in the separate blueprint area ofthe graphical user interface, wherein the additional details of thealert includes a determined elapsed time indicating a duration since thealert was generated by the server based on a time of the alert, thereal-time clinical status of the patient including the one or more vitalsigns of the patient, the functionality information of the one or moreclinical devices associated with the patient, as well as patientclinical information and is visible simultaneously with the diagnosisand visit reason in the list area of the graphical user interface, thegraphical illustration of the real-time location of the patientdisplayed within the blueprint of the facility in the separate blueprintarea of the graphical user interface and the alert in the alert area ofthe graphical user interface.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: presenting a live video feed of a patient's room in responseto identifying that an alert is in effect for the patient.
 7. The methodof claim 5, wherein the plurality of sensors utilize ultrasoundtechnology, infrared technology, or radio frequency identificationtechnology.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the patient identifier isa patient wristband.
 9. A computing system comprising: one or moreprocessors; one or more databases; one or more output devices; andcomputer storage memory having computer-executable instructions storedthereon which for accurately monitoring and managing healthcareenvironments to identify an alert in signals received from one or moreidentifiers in a sensor system communicating via a plurality of sensorsthrough a computer network with a server and to generate a graphicaluser interface displaying the alert utilizing location awareness incombination with electronic health records and electronic storage ofclinical information, when executed by at least one processor, configurethe computer system to: receive by the one or more processors patientclinical information from a patient's electronic health record stored ina database; receive by the one or more processors signals from the oneor more identifiers associated with the patient and identify a real-timeclinical status of the patient including the one or more vital signs ofthe patient, the functionality information of the one or more clinicaldevices associated with the patient, and a real-time location of thepatient from the signals, and wherein the functionality information ofthe one or more clinical devices at least indicates whether the one ormore clinical devices are functioning and are appropriate for use;immediately determine by the one or more processors that the alert isnecessary based on the patient clinical information from the patient'selectronic health record and the real-time clinical status of thepatient together with the included the one or more vital signs of thepatient, the functionality information of the one or more clinicaldevices associated with the patient, and the real-time location of thepatient received from the plurality of sensors in the sensor system;upon determining that the alert is necessary, generate by the one ormore processors the alert from the patient clinical information and thereal-time clinical status of the patient including the one or more vitalsigns of the patient, the functionality information of the one or moreclinical devices associated with the patient, and the real-time locationof the patient, the alert including a severity of the alert; generate bythe one or more processors a graphical user interface automaticallywithout user interaction which displays via at least one of the one ormore output devices the alert simultaneously in both an alert area ofthe graphical user interface and a separate blueprint area of thegraphical user interface such that the alert is visible in the alertarea simultaneously with a graphical illustration of the real-timelocation of the patient received from the one or more identifiersassociated with the patient displayed within the blueprint of thefacility in the separate blueprint area of the graphical user interface,wherein a diagnosis and a visit reason are displayed in a list area ofthe graphical user interface simultaneously with the graphicalillustration of the real-time location of the patient displayed withinthe blueprint of the facility in the separate blueprint area of thegraphical user interface and the alert in the alert area of thegraphical user interface; receive an indication of user interaction withthe displayed alert; and upon receiving an indication of userinteraction with the displayed alert, update the graphical userinterface to display via at least one of the one or more output devicesadditional details of the alert in an alert information area on thegraphical user interface simultaneously with previously simultaneouslybut separately displayed diagnosis and visit reason in the list area ofthe graphical user interface, alert in alert area of the graphical userinterface and alert in the separate blueprint area of the graphical userinterface, wherein the additional details of the alert includes adetermined elapsed time indicating a duration since the alert wasgenerated by the server based on a time of the alert, the real-timeclinical status of the patient including the one or more vital signs ofthe patient, the functionality information of the one or more clinicaldevices associated with the patient as well as patient clinicalinformation and is visible simultaneously with the diagnosis and visitreason in the list area of the graphical user interface, the graphicalillustration of the real-time location of the patient displayed withinthe blueprint of the facility in the separate blueprint area of thegraphical user interface and the alert in the alert area of thegraphical user interface.
 10. The system of claim 9, further configuredto: present a live video feed of a patient's room in response toidentifying that an alert is in effect for the patient.
 11. The systemof claim 9, wherein the plurality of sensors utilize ultrasoundtechnology, infrared technology, or radio frequency identificationtechnology.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the real-time clinicalstatus of the patient further includes vital signs of the patient. 13.The system of claim 9, wherein the patient identifier is a patientwristband.